Digit Span
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Definition
The number of items you can keep in mind at one time. Digit span technically refers to numbers, 'letter span' to letters, and 'memory span' to all types.
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Responds to
Activities involving lists of items or a sequence of steps.
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Practical Uses
Memorization, but said to affect a wide range of behaviours including
paying attention, staying on task and avoiding distractions.
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Background
_Psychology literature talks a lot about the number of things we can
keep in mind before they fade from 'working memory'. The number is 4,
or 7, depending on whom you talk to. This is supposed to be why it's
easier to remember your phone number than your credit card number. You
can increase this so-called 'digit-span' by 'chunking' items into groups, categories,
etc., but the raw capacity remains quite low.
Many people feel that improving this index has compounding benefits for working memory as a whole and even improves behaviour by producing a less frustrated child. In an intelligence test for children (WISC-III), digit span is measured to determine "freedom from distractibility," which attests to its chipping away effect on behaviour, i.e., when you can't remember things, you lose focus, get bored, daydream, act out, etc. This is supported by a study in which training in digit span not only improved working memory but improved behaviour in children with ADHD. Another study showed that while most of us use verbal processing areas in our brains to deal with remembering tasks, experts use visuo-spatial or imagery related areas, suggesting that by converting familiar input to imagery we can make working memory more efficient. The visual elements of these games are therefore a positive factor. References
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